Some of us live in apartments so this is good info...that you most likely already know! lol Lovely article I found: I love herb plants. I have grown thyme, basil, marjoram, sage, mint, parsley, cilantro, chives, rosemary, oregano and more. My rosemary plant has now made it through two winters and it looks like a small shrub. I love herb plants because I get to eat them, they are easy to grow, and they can be grown quite successfully in containers. My herb plants have all been grown in plain, cheap plastic containers from the local discount store. Some, like mint and the rosemary, have been grown in their own individual pots, while others, like thyme and sage, are planted together in window boxes that sit on the walls of my patio.
These container-grown herb plants are incredibly convenient because they are all about two steps out my back door. If I decide I need an herb in the middle of cooking dinner, I can rush out and grab a little without having to worry if my kitchen will catch on fire (and without stopping to find my shoes). There's really only one rule to growing herb plants: grow what you like. If you never cook Italian food. don't grow basil. If you don't like mint, don't grow it. You should never grow something you won't use just because it looks nice, smells nice, or seems like something that ought to be in your garden. If you cook a lot, you probably already know what kinds of herb plants you'd like in your container garden. If you don't cook, growing some herb plants just might give you a kick-start.
Try easy-to-grow and use herbs like parsley, chives, cilantro or thyme. Or grow things that correspond to the cuisine you like to eat: cilantro for Mexican food, basil and rosemary for Italian, mint and chamomile if you love tea, lemongrass and Thai basil for Thai food, etc. Then get a recipe book from the library and make sure those herbs don't go to waste! There are two methods for growing herb plants: you can buy already established plants or you can start your herb plants from seed. We usually do a mix based on which herb plants are available for sale at our local farmer's market or garden supply store. The easiest herb plants to grow from seed are parsley, cilantro, chives, mint and other similar plants with small grassy stems. The woodier herb plants like rosemary, thyme and oregano are better grown from established plants. If you are planting established herb plants, you plant them in the same way you would plant any other plant; just dig a hole, put the plant in and water it well. If you're starting your herb plants from seeds, scatter them over the soil, cover very lightly with a little bit of soil and water well. The plants will begin to sprout in about a week.
The great thing about starting your herbs from seeds is that you can continue to plant seeds every couple of weeks all season long so you always have fresh herbs available. Parsley and cilantro in particular benefit from this continual sewing, because so much must be harvested to be of any use. Whichever way you choose to start your herb plants, make sure you keep them well watered through the season and they will produce well for you. Established herbs can be harvested by simply trimming off what you need. The potency of dried herbs is about three times that of fresh, so if you are using fresh herbs in a recipe that called for dried herbs, triple the amount called for. Fresh herbs aren't just for cooking. You can also use them in craft projects, flower arrangements, and salads. Dry some of your harvest so you'll have great "fresh" herbs all winter long. You'll never go back to those sad little tins from the grocery store.
Here are some easy ways to take care of many uninvited pests in your home and the secret weapons are as close as your herb garden.
Did your grandmother ever put a bay leaf in her flour canister or rice bin? Or hang a small bundle of sage in a cupboard? Many herbs act as natural bug repellents. Here are a few "old wives" hints to use in your kitchen:
-Keep ants away by hanging a small bundle of fresh sage wherever you store food. You can also put crushed peppermint leaves on shelves where ants tend to travel.
-Cockroaches won't want to stay around if you "paint" oil of peppermint on surfaces in problem areas (test first if you are concerned about putting the oil of peppermint on wood or another surface that it might stain).
-Herb sachets might help to keep moths away from clothing.
One of the most common reasons people grow their own herbs is to use them as fresh additives to food. Though easy to grow, they still require care just like any plant. But the rewards are great when it comes to harvesting time.
One of the best uses of culinary herbs is in a fine herb butter. They’re easy to prepare and the herb adds a touch that you just can’t get any other way. It can be used in a vegetable dish, smeared on baked chicken or just as a nice spread on corn on the cob. Breads benefit from a nice layer of herb butter spread on top near the end of the cooking cycle.
There are a dozen different types. Try the blooms of Chives for an onion-like zing, or grind up some Rosemary and spread it over the dough. Use some Dill seeds to give the recipe a little sparkle.
To make Basil butter, just combine 1/2 cup of real fresh butter with a 1/2 cup of shredded leaves from dried Basil. It’s great on scrambled eggs. Add a 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese to the mix and a tablespoon of lemon juice and smear onto a French bread loaf as it’s baking.
Around Thanksgiving you might want a traditional Sage flavor in the dish. Just cream together 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of minced Sage leaves, then spread onto turkey or fish.
Cilantro butter is a great favorite. Mix two blanched and minced garlic cloves with a 1/2 cup butter, then fold in 1/2 cup of minced Cilantro and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Makes a great spread for tortillas and other Mexican dishes.
Or, reach for the Tarragon. Chop finely and mix with a 1/2 cup of butter, then fold in the herb. Add a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice and spread onto some French bread fresh out of the oven. For a traditional Tarragon dish, spread the butter on fish or use in a tomato and egg recipe. The slightly anise flavor will add zing anywhere it’s used.
Thyme is a favorite in many herb butter recipes. Add a crumbled leaf to a 1/2 cup of butter and soften. Then spread on baked potatoes or hot pasta. To add more flavor profiles, mix in an equal amount of Parsley and fresh Basil.
Whichever your favorite herb - and it would be hard to choose one - you can make an herb butter that is more flavorful than the bland, ordinary spread that comes from the cube or tub. Experiment!
Using the many plant oils and/or animal products at his disposal, the soapmaker has a chance to play alchemist. Some oils, like avocado, are full of vitamins and antioxidants and literally nourish the skin while cleaning. Others simply impart a silky feel to the lather, and make bathing a more enjoyable experience. Some oils actually bring healing benefits that are of great help in addressing skin conditions from acne to eczema. There are additional ways to bring wonderful qualities to a bar of soap. And the queen of them all is learning to use herbs. Herbs bring color, aroma, and texture. They also contain compounds that can help the skin rebuild its vitality if it is damaged, and retain is healthy glow. Herbs can be grown, bought, or wildcrafted. If you buy herbs, try to obtain organically grown ones. Bought herbs are usually but not always dried.
If you grow your own herbs you can gather them at the best time, and use them either fresh or dried. Many of the same herbs that you use in the kitchen have properties that make them useful in soapmaking. In addition, many have lovely flowers that attract birds or butterflies to the garden.
Many herbs, such as plantain or dandelion, can be conveniently wildcrafted in many locations. Always gather herbs from a location that is as unpolluted as possible – never alongside the roadways! Make sure you harvest correctly, and that you are using sustainable methods. Avoid endangered plants.
There are several ways to bring the virtues of botanicals into your soap formulas. You can add dried and powdered herbs directly to the soap. This makes a scrubby feel which is pleasant and invigorating. Some herbs, like oats, are soft and gently scrub tender skin. Others, like eucalyptus or rosemary leaves, are hard and sharp, and tend to have sharp edges. These must be carefully powdered and sifted, or else the dried bits of leaf can actually cut the skin. With correct preparation, powdered herbs add color, texture and scent to the soap, in addition to their botanical properties. Oats are wonderful for soothing irritated skin. Rosemary invigorates hair follicles and is especially good for the scalp. Nettles are good for both the hair and the scalp, and contain minerals that may have benefits to the skin. Chamomile is soothing and smells delicious. Calendula blossoms are healing.
Herbs can also be used as infusions, either in water or in oil. I generally keep a liter of olive oil sitting up high, sitting for as long as three months with a few handfuls of calendula and other herbs. The oil absorbs the color from the herbal material as well as the compounds which are beneficial in other ways. Herbs I use this way include calendula, chamomile, fresh turmeric root, dandelion root, carrots, plantain, nettles and rosemary.
Besides oil, you can use herbs as a tea. Simply steep your herbs in the water you’ll be using to make the soap until you have a strong tea. Strain the plant material out and proceed normally. Some of the herbs I use this way are green tea, nettles, rosemary, calendula, chamomile, plantain, and seaweed.
You can, of course, combine all these methods. The magical qualities of herbs and the wonderful virtues of exotic oils combine in cold-process soap in ways that seem almost mystical to me. You can see that the possibilities are endless. I do find that the best formulas are the simplest. Adding too many ingredients to soap seems to muddy the waters, so I avoid the “kitchen sink” approach, preferring instead to work with a base soap and a combination of two or three herbs that will create the effect that I want.
Herbs are also used as colorants in soaps. Oil infused with alkanet or turmeric will take on a deep red or golden tone, which will change somewhat when it comes in contact with the lye water. Alkanet is especially entertaining to watch as it morphs through a series of colors over several days. Powdered herbs may be added directly to the lye water, or where they are known to be pH sensitive, their addition may be delayed until just before the soap is poured. Here’s a list of my favorite herbal colorants:
Muted reds, red-oranges, and red-browns – paprika, madder root, alkanet root, tomato, various clays
Yellows, gold and golden-orange – turmeric, calendula
Greens – cucumbers, chlorophyll, spinach, mint, green clay
